Risk of Rain Returns

Risk of Rain 2 blows this game out of the water. I don't see any reason to play this if you have Risk of Rain 2 ❌ 2D side-scroller gameplay where you can't see a damn thing on the screen once enemy starts swarming you in later levels ❌ Drones doesn't scale up making them useless pretty quickly ❌ Except for huntress, other class doesn't change direction towards enemies when firing ❌ Too much difficult platforming which is extremely frustrating. Controls are also not responsive making you fall on the floor like an idiot instead of grabbing the damn rope as if you're playing with a blind survivor ❌ You can't hit flying enemies because for some reason the survivors can't raise their arms to shoot upwards ❌ Dead multiplayer ❌ 60 FPS lock for a 2D game. What a joke

Basically a straight upgrade from the original. This is the right way to do a remaster and I was happy to buy the game again for these enhancements. It retains everything that made the original great: nice pixel art, fantastic music, short enough to play any time, with enough random factors to keep it interesting. This remaster adds more pickups, more survivors, more quality of life features, and more functional multiplayer. Most of the new quality of life features are optional on a feature-by-feature basis in case you aren't into all the changes. Personally I slightly preferred the more simple pixel art of the original, but in light of all the other improvements that I do really like, I can't be too sad about that, and I'm sure a lot of people will like the increased detail.

I played the first game on PS Vita, the second on PS5, and now returns on my PC. What an amazing triology!

This is what I'm sure the Devs had in mind when they made Risk of Rain(2013) but didn't have the resources and now they can do it. Thanks, this game is just awesome.

更新之后打不开，无限循环启动

I really wanted to like Risk of Rain Returns, and to be fair, there is a good game here if you are already invested in the series or just want a polished remake-style roguelike. The art, music, survivor variety, and general Risk of Rain formula are all solid. But my biggest issue is the progression and difficulty structure. For a roguelike built around repeated runs, unlocks, challenges, artifacts, characters, and mastery goals, I expected difficulty to actually matter more. In games like this, a big part of the motivation is usually “push yourself harder, unlock cooler stuff, prove mastery, then keep going.” But from what I can tell, most of the game’s unlocks can be earned on the easiest difficulty, and even worse, you can adjust custom settings to make things dramatically easier while still progressing through most of the content. That completely undercuts the sense of achievement for me. I do not mind accessibility options. I actually think they are good to have. The problem is that the game does not seem to separate “accessibility / casual mode” from “challenge / progression mode” in a satisfying way. If I can crank my damage up, reduce incoming damage, play on Drizzle, and still unlock most of the same things, then the game’s progression starts to feel hollow. The challenge becomes something I have to pretend matters, rather than something the game meaningfully rewards. And yes, I know some people will say “just don’t use those options.” But that misses the point. In a roguelike where unlocks are a major part of the gameplay loop, the rules around progression matter. If the game allows you to bypass most of the challenge while still earning most of the rewards, then those rewards feel less meaningful. That is especially disappointing because Risk of Rain Returns is clearly designed to be replayed many times. This is not a one-and-done story game where difficulty is purely personal preference. This is a game about repeated clears, learning survivors, unlocking content, and improving over time. So when higher difficulty barely matters for progression, it makes the whole loop feel less compelling. I am not saying the game is terrible. If you just want more Risk of Rain, or you enjoy setting your own challenges with no external reward structure, you may still love it. But for me, the lack of meaningful difficulty-based progression makes the game feel much less satisfying than it should. I wanted the game to push me. I wanted unlocks that made me feel like I earned them. Instead, it feels like most of the challenge is optional in a way that weakens the entire progression system. Good game mechanically, but disappointing progression design.

I'd held off on buying this game for some time since I was a huge fan of Risk of Rain 2 and 2013 and wasn't sure what to expect from this version. I *sincerely* regret not buying it sooner. Returns is absolutely amazing in gameplay, variety and quality of life improvements over the original. I feel like I paid too little just for the amazing art attached to the survivors and the monsters on their logs alone. This game is a treat to play from the moment you open it to the moment you stop, and I am incredibly excited to see what else is in store as I've only played so much so far. It's glorious, my hat's off to Hopoo for still working on this over a decade long passion project and keeping the spark that makes this series special burning radiantly. If you're a fan and like me, for some reason still hadn't bought it, do yourself a favor and get it right now! As for players who haven't tried the original 2013, this version is in my opinion far more accessible as well, so it's a great starting point as all the good features of the original have been carried over.

Risk of Rain. I've been onboard since the initial release. The pixel graphics are beautiful. The abilities are impactful. And the wins are absolutely wonderful. Now 42 years old, I've been an avid gamer since the original NES. Risk of Rain is absolutely near the very top of my "best games of all time" list. Thank you to the devs and everyone involved in this (actually finished) masterpiece!! FINAL RATING: 9.5/10